This study has four main objectives; all relating to people 50 years and older: (1) Explore cross-societal similarities and differences in determinants of well being. (2) Compae the structure and effects of social support in two societies. (3) Separate effects of certain social-environmental changes from other aspects of aging. (4) Develop proposals for policy and practice affecting the elderly in the United States. We propose to realize these objectives by means of secondary analysis of two existing data sets, one from a national probability sample in the United States and the other from a sample of Kibbutz communities in Israel. Both sets of data deal intensively with he life experiences of men and women aged 50 or more; both include substantial information about stressful life events; both inquire extensively into network relations; both have many measures of well-being. Methods of analysis for each of the above objectives are outlined below: (1) This objective will be achieved by comparison of the two studies with respect to the pattern of relationships that exist among variables. Comparisons of domain structure involve factor analysis or Smallest Space Analysis. Hypotheses about causal flow will be tested through path analytic techniques. (2) This objective, in addition to the above statistical procedures, involves absolute comparisons between samples on cardinal measures (number of network members, etc.). (3) This objective requires the comparison of individuals in the two samples who show similar patterns of life events. Parallel comparisons can be made between the 10 Kibbutz communities.